Process fob improving the charac



1951 J. CADGENE PROCESS FOR IMPROVING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THERMOPLASTIC FABRICS Filed June 17, 1949 1 1 1 I II I! 1 11 l/ 1 1 1 1 1 I I 10 1 1 1 1 1 1 v 1 I 1/ 1 1 1 l1 /1 Q 1 111/ h 11 1 1/ 11 11 1 1 1/ 11 11 1 7 1 11 11 INVEN TOR. 1746:2069 6406EA E Patented Aug. 7, 1951 2,563,394 PROCESS FOR. IMPROVING THE OHARAG TERISTICS' F THERMOPLASTIC FABRICS Jacques: Cad-gene, Paterson, N; J.

Application June 17, 1949; Serial No. 99,786

My present invention relates to methods wetted; into: theirvoriginal shape, said finishing: treatmentihavingthe. purpose ofieliminating such.

tendencyso thatthertreated.fabricsipermanently retain the shape they assume duringsuch finishing treatment.

- With the above -.objects.- inview, my presentinventionmainly consists :in. methods of improving the characteristics of thermoplasticfabricsof the above defined type which. methods include the step of passing: the thermoplastic. fabric to be treated: through. a heated: bath of a liquidsubstancewhich does not adhere to thefabric. passed through; the bath.

; I have found itparticularly advantageous, to use. for. the. purposes. of my present. invention a heated molten metal bath and toheat this bath to a temperature sufilcient. to slightly plasticize the fabrics passedtherethrough, but insufficient to melt the same.

Particularly'good results are attained with my new processes if. thefabrics are. .subj acted to tension during treatment in the metalbathf In the case of fabrics, the tension is exerted preferably in transversal' and longitudinal directionof. the longitudinal piece of fabric subjects totreatment. p

In general, the time of treatment dependszupon thetype of plastic material of which thefabrics consist and. on the thickness of its yarns. Of course, the temperature of the metal bath has also to be taken into consideration when determining the length of time of immersion of the fabrics into the bath.

Nevertheless, it might be stated that in general the time of treatment, i. e. immersion into the metal bath, varies between three and sixty seconds, depending upon the above listed various conditions influencing the treatment.

of improving the characteristics of thermoplastic fabrics, more particularly the characteristics :of' fabrics made of such substances as nylon, vinyl 1 Claim. (01. 8-13.0'.1)

It has been foundthat the surface ofa molten; metal bathhas the tendency to-oxidize-and cause. formation .of a metaloxide layer on thesurface of the molten metal. In order to avoid such oxide layerwhich adversely. aifects the treated fabrics it. is advisabletoprovide a zone of inert gas,.at least at those-surface portions of the: metal bath where the fabrics enter and leave the. bath so as to prevent adherence of oxides to the surface of the treatedfabrics. Reducing gases, suchzas carbon monoxide, are. particularly well adapted. for the purposes ofmytpresent invention.

The novel features whichlconsider as charac teristic for my invention are set forth in. para ticular. inthe appended claim. The invention itself howeven both as to its construction audits method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will bebest understood from the following description of specific. embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is. aschematiccross section through a metal bath arrangement adapted for. the purposes ofmy present invention; and

Fjig. 2 is. a schematic showing of a modified metal bath arrangement similar to the one-shown in Fig. l',' but equipped with embossing rollers,

The arrangement. shown inFi'gure. 1 consists of. a vessel ill madeof. a heat insulatingmaterial in. which the electricheating. coils I l are em.- bedded. f p j This vessel I 0 is partly filled with a molten metal alloy l2, heated by'means of the heating coils. H. 1 The vesselis closedon its topby. a. cover. I3 provided.withtwoslots l4 and 15. The fabric. IE, to be treated entersthe. vesselthrough slot l4. passes over, the first metallic sup flrting' roller ll, engaging face I8 of the fabric." andover the second metallic supporting roller. i9, engaging the face 20 of the fabric. Then the fabric it passes over the guiding roller21 andis pulled out of the metal. bathlthroughthe outlet slot. It by: means of thetake up roller. 22. exerting tension onfthe fabric. in. direction of. arrow 23. l r It should benoted'that it is of greatimportance that. the metal rollers l 1 and ISengage both faces ill and:2 ll,.respectively, of the fabric. Iii-, as other wise the metal particles of the metal bath l2 are unable to properly penetrate and affect all filaments of the fabric. This seems to be due to the fact that air particles are caught between the filaments preventing access of the molten metal to the surface of all filaments and that these air particles are removed by passage of the fabric over the rollers 11 and I9.

' V of an oxide film on the surface 25 of the bath. In order to control the presence of monoxide in the treating vessel, I have found it advisable to provide in the surface of the vessel a small exitoperiing 2] provided with a valve 28. The monoxide escaping through this opening is lighted and burns with a small flame 29. As long as this'flame 29 is visible,

there is carbon monoxide in the treating vessel and no danger of formation of an oxide film exists.

The arrangement shown in Figure 2 is.very simi lar to the arrangement shown in Figure 1. The

only difference is that the first treating rollerf3ll in this arrangement is provided with teeth 3] so 1, as to exert a transversal tension upon the fabric to be treated, and the second treating roller 32 has an embossed surface cooperating with the corresponding embossed surface'on the roller 33 so as to emboss the fabric during its passage through the metal bath.

It is evident that at the time the fabric passes between therollers 32 and 33, it is in a slightly plastioized state and easily embossed.

My newprocesses are carried out in the follow ing vvay:

1 First, the'vessel I0 is filled with a metal or metal alloy having a low melting point. Eutectic metal alloys are particularly adapted for my purposes. Thus, I have found thatalloys composed of cadmium, antimony and lead furnish a very good bath Similarly, lead, tin, cadmium and similar alloys, such as bismuth, tin, lead alloys, are very well adapted as metal bath compositions,

Then, the vessel II) is heated byfmean's of the heating coils H until the desired metal bath is formed. v

Thereafter, a reducing. gas, such as carbon monoxide, is introduced through conduit 26, valve 28 is opened, and flame 29 is lighted. The apparatus is then ready for operation and the,fabric is passed through it so that itis immersed 'into'the bath for a time period of between three and sixty seconds.

' 1 Several examples of my new process are described below without, however, limitin the scope of my present invention to the particular compositions and conditions set forth in the same:

Example I A nylon fabric is passed under tension through a metal bathconsisting of 60% of lead, of tin,

' 4 V a temperature of about 140 C. The obtained fabric is embossed and, furthermore, made crease and shrinkage resistant.

' Example III A fabric of the type defined in Example I is treated as defined in Example II, the only difference being that the two embossing rollers have smoothksurfaces; This treatment will result in adhesion of the slightly plasticiz'ed yarns of the fabric, permanently connecting them at their points of intersection to each other.

Itwill be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of processes fortreating thermoplastic fabrics made thereof, differing from the types described above.

While I have illustrated and described the invention 'a's embodied in processe for finishing nylon and similar fabrics, I do not intend to be limited to thedetails shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in anyway from the spirit of my invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of my invention that others can by applyin current knowledge. readily adapt it for various applications without .omittingfeatures that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute ,essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects ofthis invention,.-and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended, within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claim. 1

having a temperature sufliclent'to plasticize said fabric, forcing said'molten metal of said'bath.

transversely through said fabric by pressing one face of said fabrlc'against one of a pair of spaced rollers and the other face of said fabric against the other of said pair of spaced rollers, while the fabric is immersed in said bath was to thereby insure contact of said molten metal of said bath and 15% of cadmium. The temperature of this metal bath is maintained at between and C. The speed of movement of the fabric is regulated so that it immerses into the'bath for between ten to twelve seconds.

Example II about thirty-five seconds, and the bath is kept at r with the entire surface of the yarns of which said fabric consists, and subjecting said fabric to both longitudinal and transverse tension'whileit is immersed in said molten metal bath.

' JACQUES CADGENE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS v I 'Date 

